MYICIURA, DEMETRIOUS
In January, 1973, John Pye, a young British police officer in Stoke-on-Trent, was called in to investigate a death. Dr Pye arrived to find a room, shrouded in darkness, and transformed into a fortress against vampires. Salt was scattered around the room and sprinkled over with blankets. A bag of salt rested by the dead man's face and another was laid between his legs. The man had mixed salt with his urine and put it in various containers around the room. On the window ledge was an inverted bowl covering a mix of human excretia and garlic. Myicuira was a Polish immigrant who had arrived in Britain 25 years earlier and lived in Stoke, working as a potter. The body was examined and the pathologist reported Myiciura had choked to death on a pickled onion, an unusual way to die but not unknown. PC Pye went to the library and did some research. He discovered the salt and garlic were traditional vampire repellents while the mixture on the windowsill was intended to attract then poison the vampire. PC Pye asked for a re-examination which showed the pickled onion to be a clove of garlic. Myiciura had slept with a clove of garlic in his mouth and choked on it - so the vampires did get him in the end.
Source: The UnXplained edited by Damon Wilson

Next HERMES Query